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I work for the Inland Revenue, with the New Tax Credits department.
We fill in the blanks on people's claims by phoning/writing them and asking for the missing information (hours worked, income, bank details etc) One thing new to this year's form is the "actual/estimated" thing, where we ask them if the income sum they have put is actual, or if they estimated it at all. It's hidden away on the form and since it's new, people won't be looking for it (and if they manage to miss important and obvious stuff like their address and child details, what chance do most have of seeing this tiny little box?)
As a result, I'd say about 60-70% of ALL claimants don't tick yes or no to say that they estimated the figure. Which means a LOT of work for us.
We have to call people up to ask if the figure is actual or estimated, even when the figure they have put is precise (ie. £6024 as opposed to 6000) so a lot of people at work (and I'm talking almost everyone) just tick it themselves for whatever they think it looks like, saving them the hassle of making a call and filling in forms. If we have to call for something else, sure, we'll ask, but otherwise, well, we're all lazy.
Management knows people do this, and are kicking off about it. Our new manager is a bit crap, and she constantly gives us worksheets (list of national insurance numbers) where more than one person has the same claim (so people are working the same cases as you, which causes all kinds of problems)
Me and my manager's deputy (does all the work the manager can't be bothered with) had the same case - she went in, saw there was no number to call and that the actual/estimated thing was missing, so sent a letter. Meanwhile, I go in the same case and tick actual and process it.
Deputy sees that someone else has worked it while she's doing the letter (you get an error saying someone else has updated it) and it gets traced back to me. Not sure how they trace them, especially since I hadn't handed in my work list with that case on, but then I don't know what "powers" the manager has, so it could be extremely easy to see which person was in the case.
I get called into the meeting room with my manager, and basically I could get sacked for it, or at least given a formal warning which is pretty much a black mark on my record with them.
Every person does it, even the key user on our team who's meant to show us how to do the job, but because I get caught, they want to make an example of me. Ironic that today I actually did loads of work, made loads of calls and did the job properly. It's just too tempting when you see a case where the income is blatantly an actual figure, and there's nothing else wrong with it. Nobody has EVER explained to us why it's so important that we know whether it's actual or estimated, even my manager couldn't tell me why - she was a bit sympathetic, but if it goes further then I'll be gone - shown the door. And I'm usually such a good boy, never had a day off in 6 months and always work hard (well, except for the aforementioned thing...)
Just gotta wait and see what they say tomorrow.
We fill in the blanks on people's claims by phoning/writing them and asking for the missing information (hours worked, income, bank details etc) One thing new to this year's form is the "actual/estimated" thing, where we ask them if the income sum they have put is actual, or if they estimated it at all. It's hidden away on the form and since it's new, people won't be looking for it (and if they manage to miss important and obvious stuff like their address and child details, what chance do most have of seeing this tiny little box?)
As a result, I'd say about 60-70% of ALL claimants don't tick yes or no to say that they estimated the figure. Which means a LOT of work for us.
We have to call people up to ask if the figure is actual or estimated, even when the figure they have put is precise (ie. £6024 as opposed to 6000) so a lot of people at work (and I'm talking almost everyone) just tick it themselves for whatever they think it looks like, saving them the hassle of making a call and filling in forms. If we have to call for something else, sure, we'll ask, but otherwise, well, we're all lazy.
Management knows people do this, and are kicking off about it. Our new manager is a bit crap, and she constantly gives us worksheets (list of national insurance numbers) where more than one person has the same claim (so people are working the same cases as you, which causes all kinds of problems)
Me and my manager's deputy (does all the work the manager can't be bothered with) had the same case - she went in, saw there was no number to call and that the actual/estimated thing was missing, so sent a letter. Meanwhile, I go in the same case and tick actual and process it.
Deputy sees that someone else has worked it while she's doing the letter (you get an error saying someone else has updated it) and it gets traced back to me. Not sure how they trace them, especially since I hadn't handed in my work list with that case on, but then I don't know what "powers" the manager has, so it could be extremely easy to see which person was in the case.
I get called into the meeting room with my manager, and basically I could get sacked for it, or at least given a formal warning which is pretty much a black mark on my record with them.
Every person does it, even the key user on our team who's meant to show us how to do the job, but because I get caught, they want to make an example of me. Ironic that today I actually did loads of work, made loads of calls and did the job properly. It's just too tempting when you see a case where the income is blatantly an actual figure, and there's nothing else wrong with it. Nobody has EVER explained to us why it's so important that we know whether it's actual or estimated, even my manager couldn't tell me why - she was a bit sympathetic, but if it goes further then I'll be gone - shown the door. And I'm usually such a good boy, never had a day off in 6 months and always work hard (well, except for the aforementioned thing...)
Just gotta wait and see what they say tomorrow.
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Controling a scene
Mojojo How did it go? You still got a job or not :o(
Why was you sitting in the dark in your car on your own?
Mojo, what is it you want to do long-term?
Yup, I worked a 13 and a half hour shift last night. 6 hours of that was sitting on my own in a car in the dark...I got to sleep at around 7.30am.
EB = nakered!
EB = nakered!
Mojojojo i know this will sound really stupid. Just be grateful you have a job. Everyone at some point finds thier job boring and dull as dishwater!
It's about as rewarding as hitting your hand with a hammer.
Sounds like a crappy job anyway, probably pays well but I doubt it's very rewarding.
My job's about as formal as you can get, being the Inland Revenue and all. It'll stay with me wherever I go, and will be a deciding factor in whether or not they rehire me at a later date. Still, better than being fired on the spot.
Well a warning is much better than getting sacked. Dont worry written warnings only count for like 3 months. Well they do in my job. Then they are forgotten about
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